Houston area sees strong hiring trend

A thriving economy, fueled by the oil and gas industry, puts Houston as a leader for relocation.

Exploration is under way at oil and gas companies across Texas, but in this case, the commodity is people.

"Things are on the rise right now for our oil, gas and chemicals markets," said Eric Krantz, Fluor spokesman. "I'm thinking we might be hiring a few hundred people here in our Houston office over the course of this year."

The focus now is experienced process and pipeline engineers, Krantz said, as well as civil, structural, architectural, mechanical and control-systems engineers.

Engineers with project-management skills have a leg up on the competition.

Last fall, Fluor won a contract from Dow to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for a propylene production facility in Freeport.

At its peak, Fluor estimates 1,600 employees will be working on the project, scheduled for mechanical completion in 2015.

In addition, Fluor and Dow signed a global capital-projects agreement, paving the way for collaboration on new projects around the world.

As new projects unfold, the type of talent required shifts.

"At the start of the year, several of the needs we received were for positions on current projects in the industry," said Mary Pharis, marketing manager at G.A.S. Unlimited. "Now we anticipate increased opportunities for talent as projects begin to enter the engineering, procurement and construction phase."

Pharis said the company's largest demand, internationally and domestically, is in the liquefied natural gas sector.

"These projects have been huge, especially in Australia," Pharis said. "However, with the natural gas boom taking place in the U.S., LNG exports have become a reality for America."

Pharis said they hope to recruit mid- to senior-level engineers through career fairs, open houses, social media and networking.

"Our recruiters are discipline-focused, so they are able to build a strong network within their field, helping to build and strengthen available resources for client needs," Pharis said. "We also maintain a proprietary database of resumes that allows us to fully track and stay on top of our employees' and former employees' current work status."

Foster Wheeler representatives said it is also recruiting experienced exploration, production and design engineers in order to meet demand from growth, both upstream and downstream.

Upstream is defined as a sector of engineering that focuses on the search for underground or underwater oil and gas fields, and drilling of exploratory wells. Downstream refers to the processing, selling and distribution of jet fuel, gasoline, diesel, lubricating oils, and petrochemical products derived from the produced gas and crude oil.

Foster Wheeler representatives foresee that there will be a demand for new engineering graduates during the upcoming spring recruiting season.

The company offers new graduates the opportunity to apply what they have learned in school while working with engineers who have more experience.

This side-by-side training, along with more formal training programs, put new hires on the path to a successful career in engineering.

Programs

The company has several ongoing programs to get the attention of the best engineers in the industry.

Foster Wheeler is using all recruiting fronts to encourage potential employees to visit and understand what the company has to offer, including employee referrals, a website recruiting page, radio and newspaper advertisements, university recruiting programs, internships, and recruiting agencies.

According to Wanted Analytics, a group that provides "real-time business intelligence for the talent marketplace," Houston has the highest demand for engineers than any other city across the nation.

Furthermore, when nationwide demand fell by almost 10 percent between spring and fall 2012, Houston experienced an increase of 11 percent.

Exploration is under way at oil and gas companies across Texas, but in this case, the commodity is people.

"Things are on the rise right now for our oil, gas and chemicals markets," said Eric Krantz, Fluor spokesman. "I'm thinking we might be hiring a few hundred people here in our Houston office over the course of this year."

The focus now is experienced process and pipeline engineers, Krantz said, as well as civil, structural, architectural, mechanical and control-systems engineers.

Engineers with project-management skills have a leg up on the competition.

Last fall, Fluor won a contract from Dow to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for a propylene production facility in Freeport.

At its peak, Fluor estimates 1,600 employees will be working on the project, scheduled for mechanical completion in 2015.

In addition, Fluor and Dow signed a global capital-projects agreement, paving the way for collaboration on new projects around the world.

As new projects unfold, the type of talent required shifts.

"At the start of the year, several of the needs we received were for positions on current projects in the industry," said Mary Pharis, marketing manager at G.A.S. Unlimited. "Now we anticipate increased opportunities for talent as projects begin to enter the engineering, procurement and construction phase."

Pharis said the company's largest demand, internationally and domestically, is in the liquefied natural gas sector.

"These projects have been huge, especially in Australia," Pharis said. "However, with the natural gas boom taking place in the U.S., LNG exports have become a reality for America."

Pharis said they hope to recruit mid- to senior-level engineers through career fairs, open houses, social media and networking.

"Our recruiters are discipline-focused, so they are able to build a strong network within their field, helping to build and strengthen available resources for client needs," Pharis said. "We also maintain a proprietary database of resumes that allows us to fully track and stay on top of our employees' and former employees' current work status."

Foster Wheeler representatives said it is also recruiting experienced exploration, production and design engineers in order to meet demand from growth, both upstream and downstream.

Upstream is defined as a sector of engineering that focuses on the search for underground or underwater oil and gas fields, and drilling of exploratory wells. Downstream refers to the processing, selling and distribution of jet fuel, gasoline, diesel, lubricating oils, and petrochemical products derived from the produced gas and crude oil.

Foster Wheeler representatives foresee that there will be a demand for new engineering graduates during the upcoming spring recruiting season.

The company offers new graduates the opportunity to apply what they have learned in school while working with engineers who have more experience.

This side-by-side training, along with more formal training programs, put new hires on the path to a successful career in engineering.

Programs

The company has several ongoing programs to get the attention of the best engineers in the industry.

Foster Wheeler is using all recruiting fronts to encourage potential employees to visit and understand what the company has to offer, including employee referrals, a website recruiting page, radio and newspaper advertisements, university recruiting programs, internships, and recruiting agencies.

According to Wanted Analytics, a group that provides "real-time business intelligence for the talent marketplace," Houston has the highest demand for engineers than any other city across the nation.

Furthermore, when nationwide demand fell by almost 10 percent between spring and fall 2012, Houston experienced an increase of 11 percent.